Stipe survived longer in the cage than Francis’s four previous opponents combined.

The UFC 260 mixed martial arts tournament ended in Las Vegas (Nevada, USA). It was already the second numbered tournament in March. In the main event of the evening, the title in the royal division was played out. League champion Stipe Miocic, dubbed the greatest heavyweight in MMA history by Dana White himself, defended the belt from Francis Ngannou’s encroachments. It was already the second meeting of contenders. The first one took place in 2018. Then Stipa managed to win on points.

Ngannou knocked out Miocic. 20 tons flew into the head of the champion …

Now, the Croatian-American was entering the fight after a trilogy with Daniel Cormier, which lasted three years. Ngannou came into the fight on a powerful streak of four victories, which were won in a total of less than three minutes. In this light, in the minds of many, there was only one question – will the 38-year-old Miocic withstand the powerful attacks of the applicant, or will the furious Cameroonian take his own due to power.

The fight got off to a very intense start. Ngannou, in a manner unusual for himself, did not rush headlong forward. Francis tried on an opponent, punched low kicks and body shots. Stipe did not take any action at all in the first minute. Then Ngannou brought the first hard attack to Miocic. The right one reached the target. Many would have already fallen then, but the champion showed that he had the strongest head of all Ngannou’s opponents. After that, Stipe decided to become more active.

In the middle of the round, he attempted a takedown. In many ways, it was thanks to takedowns that he won the first fight with the Predator, so it was quite reasonable to rely on this component now. But then something unexpected happened for Miocic. Ngannou not only skillfully defended himself, but also went on the offensive, forcing the opponent to take several hard blows. Even then, I had to be involuntarily surprised how Stipe was still on his feet. A few moments later, Miocic missed the hardest high-kick, but again resisted. Ngannou, on the other hand, was not only accurate, but also patient, not rushing to finish off and thereby avoiding unnecessary mistakes.

As a result, the first round ended quite calmly, but Ngannou’s advantage was clear. Be that as it may, Stipe has already made the Cameroonian stay in the cage longer than Ngannou’s four previous rivals combined.

It seemed that if he survived another round and managed to pull the Cameroonian into the middle of the fight, he would have a much harder time. But that plan didn’t work. In the first minute of the second segment, Ngannou allowed Stipa to work a little in the rack as the first number, and then stepped up and sent the opponent to the hardest knockdown.

Miocic managed to get up on the moral and strong-willed and, moreover, managed to sharply respond, having carried out his most dangerous blow in battle. But the answer was immediate. The counter blow was decisive. Stipe’s legs gave way frighteningly, after which the fighter collapsed onto the canvas. Herb Dean, serving the fight, did not have time to react, allowing Ngannou to break through a hard hammer-fist, which was already superfluous. Miocic was knocked out and got up quite hard and for a long time.

Impact with a weight of 1.3 tons! If Ngannou hits, not a single jaw will hold.

It looks like today, March 28, we are witnessing the birth of a new era in the UFC heavyweight division. Miocic, who ruled the division for almost 5 years (with a short break), lost like he had never lost. The one Dana White called the greatest heavyweight MMA fighter in history has fallen. But this does not detract from all the achievements that Miocic has achieved over the years of a magnificent career. Will he continue to fight after such a defeat? We’ll get an answer soon. In the meantime, thanks to Stipe for past victories and congratulations to the new champion!